Best Glamping near Huntsville, AL

Although we have been to Monte Sano many times to hike and attend events, this was our first time camping here. Monte State Park Campground is a large campground with 15 full hookup sites, 59 water& electric sites, and 21 primitive tent sites. All the sites are gravel, most sites are wooded with lots of shade, and most site are mainly level. All style sites include a picnic table and fire ring. 

Check-in is at the camp store if you arrive during store hours or with camp host if you arrive after hours. We stayed on site 24, which had complete shade throughout the day. This site backs up to a draw and each evening just before dust we could watch the deer walk up through. 

The bathhouse is centrally located, newer, and cleaned daily. There are also laundry machines available between the men’s and women’s area. 

Firewood, ice, limited grocery items, and souvenirs were available at the camp store. There is a full grocery store about 15 minutes away. 

We found ok to limited cell phone service with Verizon throughout the property. The state park did have wi-fi near the camp store. 

The park has many trails for hiking and mountain biking, as well as host the North Alabama Japanese Garden. The North Alabama Land Trust also connects to the state park and adds many more miles of trails. We hiked about 15 miles this weekend and there are many more miles to explore on another visit. 

The state park is located 5 minutes from Huntsville where you can find many restaurants, breweries, and the Space& Rocket Center. Check the Huntsville visitor’s center website for all that is offered in the area. In addition, the Burritt on the Mountain located just minutes from the park entrance and has an open air museum and an amazing overlook of Huntsville. 

We are very excited that this gem is located so close to use and are proud to call this our home camp!

Monte Sano AL: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good 70 yr olds in 17’ trailer: Overall Rating: 4.5 Price : $30 for elec/ water.
Usage during visit: 1/2 to 3/4 full Site Privacy: mostly under tree story, somewhat open Site Spacing: Large sites , Be careful of sites that back up to each other. Circled sites on map have a view, right now of the city and sunsets . 17 and 19 are nice, at the bottom of the first loop. Site surface: Packed gravel Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: 5 - children playing Road noise 5. None Electricity. Yes Water: Yes Sewer: Some sites. See map Dump: yes Bathroom: Very clean Showers: Yes, clean, curtains Pull Throughs : some sites Cell Service (Verizon): 4 good Setting: CG sits on a hilltop in a deciduous forest.
Weather: high 70. Low : high 30s Bugs: A very few mosquitoes Solar: Filters light Host:
Location: Near Huntsville. 20 minutes from the Space and Rocket Museum. (Well worth a visit) Notes: This will be a lovely setting in 1 to 2 weeks when leaves push. They are just beginning to on the hill.

We visited Monte Sano State Park in the middle of summer (June) and stayed in the campground for five nights. We made our reservations through the Alabama State Parks web reservation portal at https://guestrez.megasyshms.com/5Q5BT for campground and cabin rentals. 

The campground is located near the city of Huntsville, Alabama to the east. The park was easily accessible and the drive from the city to the park was not typical as it takes you though some of Huntsville’s neighborhoods before arriving to the park’s entrance. Once we arrived we went directly to the visitor’s center where the staff was friendly and organized. Our paperwork was already completed so the check in process was quick but very informative. We also received the gate code for the campground as the gate is electronically operated and closes after every opening to provide a welcomed level of security. We stayed in site 25 of the first loop, the park was not crowded in the campground as the summer temperatures were near extreme highs. The camp sites are very well spaced and there’s enough trees and underbrush to offer privacy. There are a few sites that have full hookups but most are without sewer. The park map I’ve included shows the ones with full hook up services. The bath houses were clean and orderly, the staff came by in the mornings to clean and restock. There are two camper/tent loops with rest rooms and showers at each. One tent only loop with no facilities but beautiful large sites. 

The park has several scenic areas where the views of the mountains are great and provides a nice place to sit and ponder. There's also an operational Planetarium on the park sponsored and operated by the Von Braun Astronomical Society (https://www.vbas.org/). There are shows on Saturday’s at 7:30PM with an admission or $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students. You will need to get there early though as parking is limited but worth the effort to visit. 

There are miles and miles of bike and hiking trails here, on the weekend it’s amazing how many cyclists come here to ride the trails. Some of the trails are very aggressive and some moderate for those of us that want this pace, the parks paved roads also offer a good place for a casual ride in the evenings. 

All in all, we really enjoyed this park and will add this to our return list in the future. I also have to recommend a visit to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center (https://www.rocketcenter.com/) in Huntsville, you won’t be disappointed.

This land trust and state park offers a fun little get away in northern Alabama, just outside the city of Huntsville. The campground is well maintained and the sites have tons of shade that make the warm summer days a bit easier to tolerate.

Each site has a large gravel area, picnic table and fire ring. There are 80+ sites but not all of them provide hookups, so be sure to pay close attention when reserving your site. At the western end of the park there is a loop that offers primitive camping that is a bit more secluded and away from the RV hustle and bustle. So if you're more of a tent camper that doesn't enjoy the noise of generators or the sight of large RVs, this may be more up your alley. The showers are located in the two loops of the developed sections of the park.

This park does offer laundry facilities which is nice if you find yourself here for a longer time period or in the midst of a long road trip.

This park also offers nice hiking trails to explore while you're here.

When I called Saturday morning to check on availability for that evening, I was told only primitive sites were available which would have been ok for a one night stay but upon arrival, we were told you had to pitch a tent for the primitive sites (we don’t have a tent and sleep in our van). However, a number of improved sites had opened up so we were in luck. All sites are gravel and appear to be fairly level and ours was likely the most level we’ve been in for awhile. Picnic table and fire ring at each site. Many families with young children (fun to watch them ride their bikes around the loop). Bathhouse was clean and I appreciated the HOT water! Coin laundry. The North Alabama Japanese garden is a nice short walk and there are a variety of hiking trails (I would recommend the Stone Cut Trail for a moderately challenging hike).